Sebastian Bohren in an interview

"We musicians should take more responsibility for our future audience."

Sebastian Bohren is a prizewinner of numerous competitions and awards and a scholarship recipient of the LYRA Foundation. In 2007, he won the Marguerite Meister Foundation Advancement Award in Zurich. In July 2011, he won the Curt Dienemann Music Prize in Lucerne, as well as a scholarship from the Carl Hirschmann Foundation. In 2015, he received a year-long grant from the Aargau Arts Council. In 2022, he was awarded the "Golden Bow" by the Swiss Violin Making School Foundation. Sebastian Bohren has performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras both in Switzerland and abroad. He was a member of the Stradivari Quartet from 2013 to 2020. He directs the Stretta Concerts series and the Brugg Festival.

When did you decide to choose the violin as your profession and why?
I started playing the violin at the age of eight, at the local music school in Möhlin. I enjoyed it, but I wasn't particularly motivated, and I remember my mother trying all sorts of things to motivate me to practice. When my family moved to Mellingen in 1998, I started taking lessons with Markus Lehmann at the music school. That changed everything for me; he became my role model, and I knew I absolutely had to become a violinist. I had a rather romantic idea of ​​what a violinist does—recording CDs, playing concerts with orchestras, and owning a beautiful old violin. This dream has stayed with me to this day and continues to drive me. I am incredibly happy and grateful that my love for the violin has remained just as strong through all the difficult years of hard work, and so I owe a great deal to my teacher Markus Lehmann, as well as to all the other teachers who have worked so hard for me!

You're still young, what are your goals?
I have many goals and dreams. Firstly, I want to continue improving as a violinist and reach my personal best in about ten years. To achieve this, I practice very hard and regularly perform for select mentors. I want to further develop my career as a soloist with orchestras, including outside of Switzerland – I have very high ambitions in this area. I still want to learn and perform many wonderful pieces with orchestras. Lately, I've discovered a particular passion for contemporary violin concertos – I always enjoy learning them immensely.
As Artistic Director of the Brugg Festival and the Stretta Concerts series, I want to make Brugg in the canton of Aargau a renowned music city, both nationally and internationally. Great musicians and well-known orchestras should perform regularly in the "City of the Prophets." With the Brugg Festival team, we are also initiating an outreach project that will introduce over 400 Brugg students to classical music – this is something very close to my heart. We musicians should take on more responsibility for our future audience, through tireless, inspiring work as ambassadors for the music we love.

You had or have a mental coach. How exactly can he help you?
My mental coach has worked with many outstanding Swiss footballers; that's how I met him, through a friend who was the top scorer in the Swiss league at the time. The intensive mental training over five years helped me to focus on my strengths, to act autonomously, and to waste less time on unimportant things. I believe you should have the prerequisite of wanting to constantly improve and being willing to dedicate yourself fully to it. It also helped me to better prepare for matches and reduce nervousness. In my view, the combination of experience and preparation is key.

Do you also teach?
In recent years, I've held a substitute teaching position and an assistantship at two Swiss music academies, and I've also taught several students privately with great dedication. However, I can't progress with the same intensity in all areas, so I concentrate on my work as a soloist and concert promoter. I'm always open to advising young violinists, though, and am often asked for my advice.

You run your own concert series and now also a festival. How did this come about, and what do you hope to achieve with it?
When I was 14, my father suggested I seek out more performance opportunities to gain experience, so I started performing as a guest musician in church services in the Brugg region. I then discovered the impressive city church and dreamed of playing a concert there one day. At 19, I spontaneously organized it and haven't stopped since. This led to the Stretta Concerts, which we still hold today with free admission and a collection, and which now boast a large and loyal audience. The new Brugg Festival is the logical next step and is aimed at a younger audience: we want to be even closer to the pulse of the people of Brugg; the city should truly "breathe" with music during the festival week. We want to build something that will enrich the region and the entire canton of Aargau in a lasting way.

Looking back, what do you see as the milestones of your career so far? What have been the most important events or people for you personally?
Firstly, my teachers were important to me: Markus Lehmann in Mellingen and Baden, then Jens Lohmann at the Zurich Conservatory, Robert Zimansky and Zakhar Bron at the Zurich University of the Arts, Igor Karsko in Lucerne, and Ingolf Turban in Munich. I was also incredibly fortunate to be able to gain valuable stage experience at just the right moment as a member of the Stradivari Quartet – and to play a Stradivarius as well. The artistic director of the CHAARTS ensemble, Andreas Fleck, then played a crucial role in my development and gave me many opportunities as a soloist. I'm not so sure I can identify specific milestones, but rather a long-term development, with its ups and downs.

Do you have any particular works or composers that you're especially fond of or that fascinate you in a particular way?
Yes, I particularly enjoy playing German music from the Baroque, Classical, and early Romantic periods. From Bach through Mozart and Schubert to Beethoven and Schumann. Bach's Chaconne and Beethoven's Violin Concerto are personally closest to my heart; I can always revisit and refine these pieces. I also find the violin concertos of the 20th and 21st centuries especially enjoyable. This year, for example, I learned the new Violin Concerto by Peteris Vasks and the Concerto for Violin and Winds by Kurt Weill.

Where do you see the greatest challenge in your artistic life?
There are many challenges all the time. But the most important is balancing my commitment as a violinist with my work as a promoter and music manager. I want to achieve the best possible balance and reach the highest level in both disciplines.

What are your passions besides music?
I love hiking, but I don't get to do it often enough. I enjoy spending time with my family. I also like to study history, politics, and social issues. I enjoy watching films on long-haul flights.

Interview by Florian Schär | Classicpoint.net | July 1, 2023
Photo: Marco Borggreve

Next concerts

May 23, 2026 - Stretta Concerts as guest - Sebastian Bohren and the Munich Chamber Orchestra
May 23, 2026 - Munich Chamber Orchestra
June 27, 2026 - Summer Serenade
October 11, 2026 - Boswil Master Concert VI - Bohren & Cvirn